RST
2022
A 2D fantasy Hack&Slash with an upgrade system. I don't consider this to be an RPG in any way. Pretty straighforward regarding progression and advancing the story. The fighting is too much button mashing for my taste, and the bosses are more of a "bullet sponge" than a real challenge.
Not a particularly bad game, but not worth the time either.
Not a particularly bad game, but not worth the time either.
2020
I picked this up from YT where it was presented as kind of "2-D soulslike". Not so. It has parry and dodge, but otherwise this is a classic Beat 'em Up style game, set in China.
It has a pretty solid and deep combat system, but most of the time the number of enemies coming at you are so plenty you have to rely on the "crowd control attacks", because there's no time to focus on just one enemy. And each enemy takes an enormous amount of hits, even on easy. I guess this is the reason for including skill trees (nine of them, one for each attack) because I don't see myself completing this game without these power-ups.
Not bad, but not memorable either. Had I research the game a bit further, knowing it was a Beat 'em up with brawler/hack&slash elements I would not have picked it up.
It has a pretty solid and deep combat system, but most of the time the number of enemies coming at you are so plenty you have to rely on the "crowd control attacks", because there's no time to focus on just one enemy. And each enemy takes an enormous amount of hits, even on easy. I guess this is the reason for including skill trees (nine of them, one for each attack) because I don't see myself completing this game without these power-ups.
Not bad, but not memorable either. Had I research the game a bit further, knowing it was a Beat 'em up with brawler/hack&slash elements I would not have picked it up.
2011
Exactly what it says on the tin (A hack-and-slash RPG featuring a reactive narrator) with an art style and colour palette much to my taste, but I did not enjoy the gameplay.
2014
Note to self: Don't buy games because they're cheap and have a appealing visual style without researching them first. This was not for me at all.
2021
Big, boring, empty world with dull quests and an annoying hover bike for traversal. A beautiful artstyle doesn't save it from being a lackluster gaming experience.
2019
A game I wanted to love, but the traveling became tedious and boring to repeat each time you die or the time loop resets. Too little time to explore or make progress for my taste. Fantastic concept and world building though.
Not to my taste at all. Three hours in and there were nothing there to keep my interest. I would've preferred it if they skipped the kindergarden stuff all together and just started the game with Aloy as an adult. And first real "mission" was nothing more than a fetch quest. I picked up a couple of side missions along the way, but more of the same "go there, pick up whatever". What a disappointment.
A world building to my taste, but the overall execution of the gameplay wasn't all that. Didn't get accustomed to either the shooting mechanics or the close combat fighting.
2016
A brutally hard and stress inducing game. I "enjoyed" my time with it, but probably won't be finishing it any time soon, if ever.
2020
Having finished Nioh 1 and wanting something different before going into Nioh 2, I quikly realized that wasn't the case at all, so Nioh 2 it was.
And finally getting comfortable with the combat system from the first game towards the end of that game, it was a somewhat jarring exeperience having to relearn the fundamentals because of some major changes to the combat in Nioh 2, which added even more complexity to something that was already challenging. And implementing the three different types of Yokai burst into the combat and the Yokai abilities took some time, but wether you find the game manageable or not depends of being able to implement these aspect into your fighthing.
There are alot of weapons in this game, and they are very varied in my experience and you really feel the difference in how you play regarding what weapons you use. Which is a good thing if you are like me: becoming a jack of all trades and master of none. Becase the weapons are meant to be used in three different stances (high, mid and low) depending on what you're doing in the fight and require fast motor skills in your finger and memorization, to get the moveset to become fluent. Where I mostly spend most of my time in one stance for longer periods of time. This can make the combat a bit samey, but hey then you can switch weapon and plebs like me get a different feel in the combat!
Nioh 2 is also mission based, which makes it a very focused game, and the hub world is like a advanced menu where you can do all types of upgrades and forging equipment. Still there's too much loot for my taste and the game lacks certain QoL improvements regarding upgrading and improving equipment and weapons, which make the process quite tedious late in the game.
And finally getting comfortable with the combat system from the first game towards the end of that game, it was a somewhat jarring exeperience having to relearn the fundamentals because of some major changes to the combat in Nioh 2, which added even more complexity to something that was already challenging. And implementing the three different types of Yokai burst into the combat and the Yokai abilities took some time, but wether you find the game manageable or not depends of being able to implement these aspect into your fighthing.
There are alot of weapons in this game, and they are very varied in my experience and you really feel the difference in how you play regarding what weapons you use. Which is a good thing if you are like me: becoming a jack of all trades and master of none. Becase the weapons are meant to be used in three different stances (high, mid and low) depending on what you're doing in the fight and require fast motor skills in your finger and memorization, to get the moveset to become fluent. Where I mostly spend most of my time in one stance for longer periods of time. This can make the combat a bit samey, but hey then you can switch weapon and plebs like me get a different feel in the combat!
Nioh 2 is also mission based, which makes it a very focused game, and the hub world is like a advanced menu where you can do all types of upgrades and forging equipment. Still there's too much loot for my taste and the game lacks certain QoL improvements regarding upgrading and improving equipment and weapons, which make the process quite tedious late in the game.
If you're in the mood for a isometric Zelda-like game with a crazy cast of characters, then you're in luck because that's exactly what Nobody Saves the World is. The gameplay is solid and a bit out of the ordinary due to the amount of playable characters you get to choose from with their own complete movesets and attacks. The bodybuilder, the magician and the horse where among my favourites, but the slug and the rat is also worth mentioning.
The game is filled with humour, quirky NPCs, slapstick and funny dialogue and if you're familiar with Guacamelee you know what to expect in that regard.
To me this was not a binge game, because when I had one third of the game left I needed a break and wasn't sure I would complete it, though having enjoyed it up until that moment. But returning to it a week later it felt "fresh" again and nobody ended up saving the world.
They tweak the gameplay for NG+ and the new rules sounded fun, but my run with the game was fullfilled. Happy to have played it.
The game is filled with humour, quirky NPCs, slapstick and funny dialogue and if you're familiar with Guacamelee you know what to expect in that regard.
To me this was not a binge game, because when I had one third of the game left I needed a break and wasn't sure I would complete it, though having enjoyed it up until that moment. But returning to it a week later it felt "fresh" again and nobody ended up saving the world.
They tweak the gameplay for NG+ and the new rules sounded fun, but my run with the game was fullfilled. Happy to have played it.
2009
Nice, like a cup of tea. Probably won't remember it a year from now, but enjoyed it and could have one more later on.
Played on Nintendo Switch. Nothing too demanding puzzle wise, but quite annoying not being able to rebind the buttons, that would've made the action parts less clunky.
Played on Nintendo Switch. Nothing too demanding puzzle wise, but quite annoying not being able to rebind the buttons, that would've made the action parts less clunky.
2021
This has to be a somewhat hidden gem from recent year. If you love Tim Burton's stop motion movies you're going to love this game's artstyle because they wear their influence out in the open. And there's so much to look and marvel at that sometimes it feels like the gameplay gets in the way.
The world building and character gallery is absolutely amazing and the amount of creativity poured into this game is wild. The only negative thing regarding this, is that the game is VERY monologue heavy, as in at lot of the side characters are fleshed out with a lot of back story and boy to they want you to hear ALL of it. Sadly sometimes less is more, because after the first few worlds it starts to get a bit exposition-y.
The balance between exploring and figthing is okay, but towards the end the battles tends to be a bit on the repetitive side, and even though the mix between action and deck builder is fun to begin with it lacks the necessary depth or "fun" factor to last through the whole game.
The world building and character gallery is absolutely amazing and the amount of creativity poured into this game is wild. The only negative thing regarding this, is that the game is VERY monologue heavy, as in at lot of the side characters are fleshed out with a lot of back story and boy to they want you to hear ALL of it. Sadly sometimes less is more, because after the first few worlds it starts to get a bit exposition-y.
The balance between exploring and figthing is okay, but towards the end the battles tends to be a bit on the repetitive side, and even though the mix between action and deck builder is fun to begin with it lacks the necessary depth or "fun" factor to last through the whole game.
2016
Nah, I can see why this might be popular amongst retro-gamers, but to me this didn't look or feel like the SNES classic did. I gave in at the boss fight right before you get the airship, probably under leveled because he could wipe out my whole party even though I had two who could cast healing spells. And grinding as a game mechanic to be at the "right" level is not a function I miss from the old days.
2014
Oof, this was a sluggish experience. Clunky combat, no remapping of buttons, poor lock-on function, wiggly camera and surroundings tilting back and forth when moving = nauseating effect. Every weapon was incredibly slow and the special ability was just confusing and cluttered up the screen.
Just a total failure when it comes to gameplay.
Just a total failure when it comes to gameplay.